My mission is to become as car non-dependent as possible, so I can get rid of it and it's associated costs and annoyances.

As I need to occasionally lug home a 25kg bag of chook food, and the odd bag of potatoes, I thought I'd investigate trailers for attaching to bikes. A google revealed a guy who adapted a trailer to do as such and his conclusion was that the best option was when It is pulled from a central location rather than the side of the rear axle.

Any ways, on my toodle around today I spotted a wheelchair under a pile of refuse on a nature strip. I'll be there early morning to retrieve it, I think this may be the basis of the build. 24 x 1/38 tyres. I have a couple of ideas for a hitch to the bike, One would be fairly sturdy and involves the mangling of a kids scooter, and possibly an odd crutch or two.

PS I dont weld, took a course once, and I don't work well in the dark...

Popular hitch idea (instructables) seems to be some airline hose and quick release air fittings. Combine that with a safety strap for just in case and you've got a quick release trailer.

I have a cheap repco trailer that came with a clamp that screwed down onto the chain or seat stay. Stupid thing was so big and bulky I couldnt' wear clip in shoes with it, they would rub. I (eventually) got rid of it and now the skewer mounts through a flat plate that was welded to a tube which the flexible bit from the trailer bolts into

Edit: was going to upload a pic, but it's gone.

bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

Gazukes wrote:A google revealed a guy who adapted a trailer to do as such and his conclusion was that the best option was when It is pulled from a central location rather than the side of the rear axle.

PPS I have Hub gears,

I have hub gears and a trailer for towing the kids. I disagree, I have no proble towing 15kg of trailer and 45kg of kids and stuff from the attachment point on the left end of the axle. The trailer is a Croozer if you can find pics of the attachment on line.

And that's the solution right there... It's very easy to modify a Croozer/Pacific-type kiddie trailer to your needs. Look for one on your local classifieds - usually they're upwards of around $100, but if you're quick you can get the ones listed even cheaper. If your goal is minimise car dependence, then think about the cost of a trailer vs a tank of fuel...

lobstermash wrote:And that's the solution right there... It's very easy to modify a Croozer/Pacific-type kiddie trailer to your needs. Look for one on your local classifieds - usually they're upwards of around $100, but if you're quick you can get the ones listed even cheaper. If your goal is minimise car dependence, then think about the cost of a trailer vs a tank of fuel...

But, but, I like making things. Especially if its from the detritus I constantly find all around me. My scrounged together rat-hole-of-a-trailer can go off to land fill after I've finished with it.

I have a cheap repco trailer that came with a clamp that screwed down onto the chain or seat stay. Stupid thing was so big and bulky I couldnt' wear clip in shoes with it, they would rub. I (eventually) got rid of it and now the skewer mounts through a flat plate that was welded to a tube which the flexible bit from the trailer bolts into[/quote]

I may stand corrected on the hitch issue (hey, it's something I've been musing about on and off for a few years myself) but I think as long as the hitch hooks around and the trailer's axles track centrally infront of the trailer, and line with the centre of the bike it should handle OK.

Full of theory myself... I lost the practice side of things the last time I forgot to put away my tools

(please don't ask me how long I have had the halves of of an old wheel chair frame sitting around with with the hubs built back up onto more garden variety 26" rims waiting for me to start playing with the Oxy/LPG set so I can teach myself to braze and build up into a canoe trailer... )

- KymAfter all is said and done; a lot more is usually said than done.

Well as I mentioned in my first post, someone had a trailer salvaged from the kerb with the side mount connection. He wasn't happy with the turning circle, and to my mind, to loose agility puts the cyclist at greater risk of road trauma. If I need to get off the road, I wanna go as quickly as I can.

The guy did two alternative hitch arrangements, and concluded the central hitch was better (more agile). Gotta be a good reason auto trailers use an A bar Rather than s single bar, helps to keep alignment as well as more secure, if there is a failure in the frame it is less likely to be catastrophic.

I think I have a solution for a seat post hitch that will be secure and flexible in the vertical and horizontal planes, Though a mini towball would be ideal! Or a strong and light universal joint.

I like the idea of 24" wheels as it should roll easier than kids trailers, especially as I'll need to navigate a very bumpy twin railway crossing that is notoriously busy, and the pedestrian crossing is bike proof. I don't see too many kids carriers with kids in situ using that intersection. I never see 'em on the road any way.....

Gazukes wrote:Well as I mentioned in my first post, someone had a trailer salvaged from the kerb with the side mount connection. He wasn't happy with the turning circle, and to my mind, to loose agility puts the cyclist at greater risk of road trauma. If I need to get off the road, I wanna go as quickly as I can.

The guy did two alternative hitch arrangements, and concluded the central hitch was better (more agile). Gotta be a good reason auto trailers use an A bar Rather than s single bar, helps to keep alignment as well as more secure, if there is a failure in the frame it is less likely to be catastrophic.

I think I have a solution for a seat post hitch that will be secure and flexible in the vertical and horizontal planes, Though a mini towball would be ideal! Or a strong and light universal joint.

I like the idea of 24" wheels as it should roll easier than kids trailers, especially as I'll need to navigate a very bumpy twin railway crossing that is notoriously busy, and the pedestrian crossing is bike proof. I don't see too many kids carriers with kids in situ using that intersection. I never see 'em on the road any way.....

Don't confuse turning circle at walking speed with agility at riding speed. It is difficult to ride a bike slowly enough to cause the rear wheel to foul the tow bar in a tight right turn (they all mount on the left). Turning to the left is unaffected. Road trauma is a non-issue with a trailer, you get much more space when you tow a trailer. There is a reason that just about every two-wheeled trailer for bikes is towed by a left side mount. A central mount at the seatpost apart from being very high is difficult to do a good connection with. This is the weak point of most trailer-bikes which is why they nearly all wobble in use. With the mount so high it tends to try and lift the back wheel off the ground in heavy braking.In addition the mounting point is ahead of the rear axle which makes reversing a full trailer more problematic. The best attachment IMO is the low central mount of a Bob trailer.

Slick 20" tyres roll pretty well, and cope well with bumps, I was lucky and found some 20" Big Apples in the discount bin at an LBS years ago and they were good. I don't think you'd be getting much if any advantage with obscure wheelchair tyres.

By far the easiest solution is a second-hand two wheel trailer. They only get used for a couple of years at best and then passed on. The seat 'back' can be folded down or cut off easily enough.

Here is a pic of my modified cheapy trailer mount.Inside the spring looking bit is a thick plastic noodle that the bolt also goes through. It's nice and flexible and coped with two kids in the trailer a few times (before the modified mount). You can also see the safety strap. It gets wrapped around the stays enough so there isn't much slack and then clipped back to the trailer.

It is no trouble with the hitch on the side for general riding, only for turning around in tight spots, but the I'll usually lift the bike and swing the trailer around with the bike lifted. If you need to turn so tight it is going to get in the way then you've got feet on the ground anyway because of the extreme low speeds.

Making stuff is fun, especially from found objects, but spending $20-$50 on a 2nd hand prebuilt trailer might be worth it if your welding isn't crash hot. Getting the frame and axles sorted by someone else and then building/modding your own top is still making a trailer.

bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

Thanks for the info and especially the pic. Does the Spring act as the universal joint?

Been at a mate's place for the weekend. Have managed to score a reasonable sized wire crate, (country shed, resource GOLD). And a waif who is a dab hand it welding! Last item to source is the towing pole.

With one of these, maybe best to avoid the 25Kg bags and go for the 20Kg bags of chook food slightly more often.But my question is, why do the 25 kgs of scratch mix always feel lighter than the 25kgs of layer pellets? Maybe a WRBT (Wheelchair-Revisioned-Bike-Trailer) will feel the same, and cart and handle the 25s of SM the same way as a 20 of LP?